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Join Date

Mar 2009

Location

Fernandina Beach, Florida

Posts

674

PA system

this has probably been asked before but here goes. for your typical bar/cover band what should I be looking for when buying a PA system. I know the options are powered mixer with passive speakers or mixer plus power amp or mixer with powered speakers. But I'm wondering what I should be looking for in terms of wattage, options, effects etc.

I know alot of people say dont mic anything but vocals in a small club but I dont really want to go that route, it makes you sound like a garage band with everything running at different levels. I think drums should be mic'd not so much for volume but for sound quality. Just stand back and listen to a drum sound check where the bass and toms go from flat to that sweet tone of the toms and deep thud from the bass drum coming through the PA.

maybe I'm stuck in the 80's but I really enjoy the sound of everything being run through the mixer and speaker system. Then again I love to see a nice sound system with seperate bass bins, mids and horns, not sure how many bands even run that type of system anymore.

Anyway, what should I be looking for in terms of power, speaker size, features, etc?

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Join Date

Dec 2006

Location

kansas

Posts

2,755

Re: PA system

i have an (almost) completely berhinger rig for my band. we got great deals on year old models with the speakers. a pair of 3way 15" mains($300.), 2 18" subs ($400) and 2 15" monitors. ($200) the rack setup has a berhinger 2400w amp ($350) and an old peavy cs800 amp ($20), berhinger EQ (free) and furman power conditioner ($50). everything runs thru a 16ch berhinger europower mixer($75). all in all a cheap and capable small gig rig.

people might knock berhinger gear, but we have not had a single problem (except labels falling off) in the year we have been using it at least 2 or 3 shows a week. the 3 way mains are crisp, and IMO sound better in a small place than higher end gear that has to have a ton of juice and volume before they come to life. in most (small) bars we only use one sub if we use one at all. we use both when playing big places or outside.

in really small places we wont run anything but the vox and kick drum thru the PA. stage volume is usually loud enough and things tend to get jumbled when everything is going thru PA. when we get in bigger places tho, we mic the heck out of everything, and usually have a sound guy, or i find someone to do a soundcheck on my drums for me and i will do a quick mix.

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Join Date

Mar 2008

Posts

25,636

Re: PA system

Our system consists of separate bass bins, and mids and highs in a separate cabinet. We run full crossover, EQ and effects. I'm not sure of the amp wattage but we run a mono system and have separate amps for mains and monitors. Everything gets mic'd so you can balance everything out. It also doesn't matter what size venue. If the drums are such that they sound good in any size room micing is simply the best way to balance all the instruments and hopefully ensure you don't drown out the vocals.

For my drums I go with a minimum of micing. One mic for the rack tom(s) and one for the floor(s). One for the bass drum, one for the snare and one for the hats. (Lambster should like this...I don't specifically mic my cymbals with any mics.)

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Join Date

Jul 2008

Location

Connecticut

Posts

3,697

Re: PA system

We have an older Peavey XR600B, I think, powered mixer (600 watts?), 2x EV cabinets with 15" (SH1502), 2x EV (100s) monitors. We usually only use PA for vocals at bars, although we've very lightly mic'd the kick and snare before. The PA isn't enough to mic everything. We rent bigger equipment if we need to mic the whole band. When we used to play all the time, the clubs had PA's so we didn't need a big set up.

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Re: PA system

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Join Date

Nov 2007

Posts

196

Re: PA system

I have a 12 channel yamaha board with 2 sets of 400w 2 way speakers (FOH & monitors) and a 1200w Tapco juice power amp.........could use another power amp.........so far I only hook up 3 mikes to the pa and they seem to pick up enough ambient noise, including drums.............I have been very lucky to put my system together rather inexpensively........next board will be 32 channel.............drums alone will "fill" a board...........

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Join Date

Jan 2008

Location

Ontario,canada

Posts

3,881

Re: PA system

One band I play with has all yamaha , 800 watt to the 12 inch tops and powered monitors, we play mainly smaller venues and parties, if we need bigger sound we rent a sound guy who has a major bose system, gig and dosh has to worth it though.

the funk band has a ridiculous amount of gear and power. I hate lugging it but man it sounds killer. It all depends on the ciruit and money your band can command.
there's money in them convention gigs.

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Re: PA system

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Join Date

Mar 2009

Location

Fernandina Beach, Florida

Posts

674

Re: PA system

Thanks guys, i'm just trying to get some kind of idea as to what I'm looking at, it's been awhile since I dealt with sound systems. Like I said last time I messed with sound every band around was using stacks, huge bass bins, mids and horns, pretty much the same system thats bish is using. I'm thinking about investing in a bigger board with at least 16 channels in order to mic and balance everything out, of course in reality I'll probably end up using a smaller powered mixer and some 15's to get started.

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Re: PA system

I just found this video, it was made by a guy named Dave who has an online guitar instruction website that I used to subscribe to. It's a rundown of a live show PA system and how theirs is setup

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9Ji2QvuD-8"]YouTube - How to set up a PA System Public Address System Live Show[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjrKLLNU6Zw"]YouTube - Part 2 How to set up a PA System Public Address System Live[/ame]

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Join Date

Apr 2008

Posts

35

Re: PA system

Buying a PA System is like buying a DrumSet.Its really about how much you want to spend and what you want it to do.My suggestion would be to buy the best quality items for the money you're want to spend.Besides playing drums, I've been doing Sound Gig's for several years.Get to know some of the Sound guy's in town and ask lots of questions.I was just like you when I bought my first system.I bought a Rack mount system w/ EQ,Effects,Etc and I did'nt even know how to wire it.I had a Mackie CFX Board and was like WOW... This thing sure has a lot of knobs..Scarery !!! As I learned more I realized I bought equipment I did'nt need and over paid on used stuff I thought was a deal.My advice is to have a plan on what you want your System to do and how much do you want to spend.You may not be able to get everything you want @ first,so decide what you really need.Behrenger items are inexpensive,but like everthing else...You get what you pay for.Yamaha makes a great powered head w/ 8 mic imputs and it has neutrix speaker connections,is Loud,and weights only 13 lbs.Yamaha Club Series speakers are great for the money,But if you can afford it get JBL's MRX Series Speakers.They're almost twice the cost of the Yamaha's , but sound better and the 15's are 20lbs less in weight than the Yamaha's.If you're playing small venue's look @ Yorkville 10" Powered sub.Its small and light.Use it w/ a seperate unpowered mixer for your kick and if you want to put the bass thru it.As Drummer's we all want our kick to sound Fat and only a Subwoofer will give you that sound.Pa Systems are like Drums...You're always looking to add something to your setup and its constantly changing as your needs change.

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Join Date

Mar 2009

Location

Fernandina Beach, Florida

Posts

674

Re: PA system

Well we bought a mixer the other day, It's a Behringer Europower pmp2000. 10 channels, 2x350 watts, 100 preset FX, phantom power, dual 9 band eq's. $315 at GC
it works well and puts out plenty of power.

Speakers are next on the list but for now I'm using a pair of old pioneer 3 way cabinets loaded with 15"s for vocals only. I'd love to get a set of JBL cabinets, I've always been a big fan of the JBL line